The brown socks on the left are for my friend K-, who lives in upstate New York. The left one of the pair took a trip to see her because I was suddenly unsure of the measurement (the stitch count was right, the needles were the same size as on the other two pairs I've made her, but...very different yarn. Others were made of an acrylic/wool blend that was at least 50 years old. This is contemporary 100% wool.)

It came back today; she said it fit fine. You might notice four different colors of needles in the brown pair. I inherited from my mother two sets of four size 4 US double-pointed needles: those are the dark rose and the green. Although the original packaging was long gone by the time I found them in a pair of partly-knit socks, I know she bought Susan Bates (tm) needles back in the 1960s or before. I prefer to knit in the round with five DPNs (less laddering problem between needles.) So I needed more. The purple (lowest needle showing in the sock on the right side) is a Hobby Lobby size 4, and not a needle I'd recommend. Not slippery enough with wool yarn. Feels OK in the hand when new, but doesn't let yarn slide easily and after not-much-use the color wears off and it doesn't feel as good in the hand as the old needles. The pale pink (in the sock on the left, showing between a dark pink above and a green below) is a new Susan Bates(tm) "Silvalume" size 4. Although it's not as slick as the old ones (which after all were polished by years of my mother's knitting) it's also not as "sticky" as the Hobby Lobby one. I'm hoping the new Susan Bates (tm) needles slick up with use. I now have enough (including my mother's) to keep two pairs of socks going + some mitts. The yarn here is Cascade 220 "Walnut Heather" # 8013; it's one that K- picked out online.

The purple socks on the right are for me. The cuff looks shorter because a) those cuffs are an inch shorter than K- likes (but this length works for me, in a warmer climate) and b) my legs and feet are bigger than hers, so the foot is longer in proportion. I would need 8 or 9 inch cuffs to have it look the same and that's way too hot for where I live.

The purples should be finished in the next day or so, as I'm still sick and I do more knitting when sick. They're just about to start the toe decreases. Here the needles are all size 5s, plain aluminum. They've gotten slicker with the 40-odd pairs of socks I've knit with them.

That purple yarn is Cascade 220 Purple Jewel Heather, #7811 one of the five basic colors I use. It's as pretty as the Superwash purple I bought years back--the first purples I made--and then discovered the yarn stretches out with washing. The next purple pair I made were Plymouth Yarns Galway Nep (discontinued) in purple (on the right below) but it was a "duller" purple, even when enlivened by the multi-colored "neps.) Now I'm trying this color and another Cascade 220 purple to see which I like. Then I'll buy some more of it to have ready for the next round. (Haven't decided what to do with the purple Superwash I bought...have considered knitting it in a tighter gauge. I may make K- a pair to see how she likes Superwash wool socks.)

Previous purple socks:

Cascade 220 Superwash purple The purple Plymouth Yarns Galway Nep with the first shorty sock being tried on over it for heel turn

Sometimes trying to get the labels lined up right under the right image is...frustrating. Having repeatedly "told" it to line up flush with the left edge of the right image...both lines...look what happens. Trying AGAIN.

Nope. Didn't work. It looks right when I'm in Edit mode, but reverts to this when I'm not.

Once I saw it in real life, that brown yanked at me and I had to buy a couple of skeins for myself. The picture of it online was lighter, so it wasn't as attractive in the catalog as another mid-brown heather. But in real life, it is lovely. (Of course, the more I knit, the more I've realized that I can wear, in socks, colors that I kinda like but would look awful next to my face. So I'm becoming more open to more colors.)

I can wear, in socks, colors that I kinda like but would look awful next to my face

I sometimes wear the most obscene colours and patterns, in socks, for this very reason. Of course they are always things that appeal to me, but I couldn't get away with wearing "out loud" for whatever reason -- doesn't match my skin tone, or my outfit, or my age, or would look positively garish if I had worn it with anything else. I secretly like to wear amazing socks as often as I can get away with it. :D

It's fun, isn't it? When I'm out in the world wearing slacks and shoes that cover my socks (which is mostly what I wear), knowing that underneath that are bright-colored socks (striped or not) makes me feel daring and thus brave (though to someone else, the fact that I have on turquoise or red-and-purple striped socks may not be daring at all.) It's a little defiant.

And when I'm home, in the house, walking around sock-footed, I love to look down and see my feet being decorative in something I made. My choice. My design. My skill, such as it is.

The summer socks, when worn with sandals, do show more, but again--they cheer me up by being bright and striped.

Another pair of socks for K-

Re: Another pair of socks for K-

She hasn't *asked* for purple, but...given that socks in winter are hidden inside snow boots anyway...and I can do them with size 4s which means they'll be denser. And her feet are smaller than mine anyway so they might not stretch out and "loosen" as much.